The Detroit Lions plan to activate safety Brian Branch before the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. While the expectations are for Branch to improve the secondary, there is a question as to how much of an initial impact he will have.
Head coach Dan Campbell admitted that he does not expect Branch to see a full snap share against the Packers.
“I think that would be asking a lot to say he is going to play 70 plays,” said Campbell. “We feel like there’s, we do feel like he can handle quite a bit here.”
Campbell added that the plan is to push him in practice to see how many snaps they feel they can put on his plate. He added that they are adjusting their practice schedule with the purpose of seeing how many snaps he will play.
Detroit Lions Plan to Play Safety Brian Branch in Week 7
“We’re going to push him in practice here early,” said Campbell. “That is one of the reasons we are practicing tomorrow and not Wednesday, so we can push some of these guys just a little bit. Knowing that they are going into a day off.”
The Lions are going to push Branch on Tuesday, then give him a day off on Wednesday. On Thursday, they are going to test him again. After the rest in between, they should have a strong idea of how he will perform.
Campbell noted that the team will enter the game with a rough idea of how many snaps they plan to play him.
“I think that will help a little bit,” Campbell added further. “We will have a really good idea by the time we hit the game. We already, you know, kind of have a range of what we are looking at for him.”
The secondary has been the biggest issue for the team this year. So, any snaps he can play are going to be significant.
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Branch has been on the PUP along with teammate Kerby Joseph. So, the team had to start Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark to begin the season. Maddox got hurt, and so did his backup, Thomas Harper.
The team tried Christian Izien and has now settled on Keith Abney. Abney is a rookie fifth-round pick who played cornerback in college.
They could platoon Abney with Branch early on. It is a good way to keep getting Abney experience, but not overwhelming the rookie. Meanwhile, Branch can be eased in.
However, Abney has upside and potential. Clark has struggled as well. In a perfect world, Abney could replace Joseph, and Branch could step into the box as the strong safety. It will be interesting to see their plan for this week and how it might look moving forward.
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